Mitchell Gold, a furniture maker that did for the sofa what Gap did for the T-shirt, has named a longtime executive of Seventh Avenue as its new president, part of a strategy to expand into new product categories, The Post has learned.

George Ackerman, who spent much of his career as an arbiter of taste at fashion labels like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, will now weigh in on slipcovers and ottomans.

Whether applied to fashion or furniture, “good taste is still good taste,” said Ackerman, who was recruited by the search firm Korn/Ferry.

Seventh Avenue may seem an odd place to look for talent for a company based in Taylorsville, N.C., a hamlet in the heart of furniture country.

But Mitchell Gold, who founded the company with partner Robert Williams in 1989, has never been one to stick to the rules.

It’s not just that Mitchell Gold factory workers dine on delicacies like grouper Caesar salad cooked up by the on-site chef. Or that Gold calls each of his 600 employees by name.

It’s quirkier than that.

For instance, Gold, an avid dog lover, created a section on the company’s Web site called Lulu’s friends, named for his English bulldog, where other dog lovers can post pictures of their pooches.

When Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, Erskine Bowles toured the Mitchell Gold factory, he told Gold that what he really wanted to do was meet Lulu. (Bowles, not coincidentally, is the owner of Meina, a bulldog whose photo is posted on Mitchell Gold’s Web site.)

In his own way, Gold – who got his start as a furniture buyer at Bloomingdale’s -has shaken up an industry dominated by century-old companies, spotting trends early and marketing the brand in a provocative way, observers said.

Mitchell Gold was among the first to offer slipcovers for upholstered sofas – a trend popularized by stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, which now sell Mitchell Gold’s private-label furniture.

The company, which also sells products under its own name at ABC Carpet & Home and through nine franchised Mitchell Gold retail stores, caught the attention of consumers with provocative advertising that featured half-naked models and dealt with subjects like same-sex couples before such topics became fashionable.

“Mitchell put some sex into a very conservative industry,” said Carl Levine, a former executive vice president at Bloomingdale’s who now runs his own consulting business.

So far, the strategy seems to be working.

With $80 million in sales, Mitchell Gold has been growing at about 20 percent a year – outpacing the 3 percent growth of the $71 billion furniture industry.

Now Gold, who sold his namesake company to Rowe Cos. in 1999 for $37 million and bought it back four years later for $46 million, said he has his eye on new categories like handbags and perfume.

The strategy is a risky one, but could also provide huge opportunities to expand the Mitchell Gold brand, observers said.

“It’s been done in reverse,” said Levine, the former Bloomingdale’s executive said, pointing out that many fashion brands now sell home furnishings.

“Just look at Donna Karan and Calvin Klein,” he said.

Golden touch

Furniture maker Mitchell Gold – a big name in stores like ABC Carpet & Home, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware – hired former fashion industry exec George Ackerman as its new president. About the company: